Barnham and Rogate parish councils receive cash boosts for new generators

Barnham and Rogate Parish Council is set to benefit from a £9,156.66 grant, which will go towards buying two new portable generators for each village hall in the parish. Rogate Parish Council, meanwhile, will receive £6,127.96, which will also go to purchasing a new generator for the village hall.

Alongside all that, Sussex 4x4 Response will receive to commission renovation works, creating a mobile command and control logistics centre, in order to speed up rescue response times across Sussex.

The grants are just three given out to thirty four communities across the South Coast by SSEN’s Resilient Communities fund to help them build local resilience and protect vulnerable residents.

£257,000 has been distributed overall, with money going to everything from community groups to charities. Successful applicants set out their case for funding last year, before the funding panel decided which applications should be granted based on the extent to which they met the criteria.

Eliane Algaard, SSEN’s Director of Customer Operations said:

“It’s heartening to see so many groups awarded in this most recent and last round of SSEN’s Resilient Communities Fund. Their successful applications have secured vital funding for their local communities and the vulnerable residents within them.

“No matter how large or small the award, each and every one of these groups has carefully looked at what will benefit their communities most.

“I’m delighted to see the variety, scope and individuality of their awards, and how SSEN is helping bring those projects to life; empowering communities and supporting them to become more resilient now and for many years to come.”

Since it was established in 2015, the Resilient Communities Fund has provided around £5 million to more than 700 not for profit groups and charities across the SSEN catchment area. But last year’s fund was the last one, with SSEN set to develop and launch a new fund later this year. While it will continue to support community resilience, this new fund will seek to include environmental resilience and the adoption of low carbon, environmentally friendly technologies.